News

Authorities declare Woodside High campus safe after bomb threat

County bomb squad employed a bomb-sniffing dog

By 12:30 p.m. Thursday (April 2), the Woodside High School football field, where students had gathered after the evacuation, was empty, although emergency aid kits could be seen. (Photo by Magali Gauthier/The Almanac.)

Investigators and a bomb-sniffing dog from the San Mateo County bomb squad have completed their search of the campus of Woodside High School and things are more or less back to normal, Principal Diane Burbank said a phone message to the school community at 12:10 p.m. this afternoon.

Classes resume as usual on Friday, April 3, Ms. Burbank said. Activities scheduled for April 2 will take place, she added.

The incident began with a bomb threat called in from off campus, she said. Students and staff left the classrooms at 9:30 a.m. and gathered on the school's football field. Ms. Burbank said she decided to cancel classes for the day in light of the length of time investigators would likely need in searching the campus for bombs.

School staff released students one by one as parents and guardians called in to authorize it or came by to pick students up. When exiting the classrooms, they were told to leave their backpacks and other personal items.

Students who drove to school and had car keys with them when they evacuated were allowed to leave, but only after an authorizing call from a guardian, Ms. Burbank said.

No one was reported hurt.

Student account

A student said that the exodus to the football field began at around 9:30 a.m., when an alarm sounded.

This student said two officers grabbed a student ahead in line who had cursed the officers. They "threw him on the ground," the student said.

When asked about feeling scared, the student replied, "A little bit."

All told, the officers detained four students, the student said.

Ms. Rosenblatt from the Sheriff's Office said she could not respond to the student's account until she talked with the deputies involved.

She did say that deputies arrested two youths on "behavior issues." While she did not know the exact charges that triggered the arrests, they were not related to the bomb threat, she said.

Posted by Elaine park
a resident of Woodside High School
on Apr 2, 2015 at 7:47 pm

I would love to know why a Sheriff's deputy assaulted a student in full view of the student body. How is it appropriate for grown adults to throw students to the ground for being verbally defiant? Also, what does "behavior issues" mean? Why were two students arrested? These people all work for us, the tax payers, and are accountable to us. How about some more information on this?

My student said that boy concerned was already in handcuffs, shouting that he did not have a bomb, and was being escorted to the field by two police officers. When they got there, the boy tried to run away from them, in the handcuffs. That was when the police officer stopped him by 'tripping' him as he was running and that was how he went down. When down, the officer said 'you are under arrest, anything you do say' etc, and boy was restrained on the ground. The boy started shouting 'F*** the police, f*** the police' 'Is anyone taping this, this is police brutality?' If there was someone videoing the incident, it might clarify things even further, but my understanding is that the boy was trying to 'escape'.

Posted by minor who assulted by police
a resident of Woodside High School
on Apr 3, 2015 at 12:25 am

I am the minor who was assulted by police and i would just like too say that the information you have received is false and is just a cover up by police to try to justify what they did! You can contact me at Woodside High School if you have any questions

Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 3, 2015 at 7:13 ampogo is a registered user.

Shades of Ferguson, Missouri where everyone so quickly jumped on the "hands up, don't shoot- the police murdered an innocent young man in cold blood" theme. Do you recall the subsequent Justice Department investigation and report that wondered how such an erroneous story could take hold so quickly and disseminated so widely?

Have we learned nothing since then?

Yes, police can over-react at times, but my casual and informal observation of high school student conduct isn't exactly ripped from the pages of Emily Post. And yes, I expect more from our police than I do from a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds, but in the tense setting of a bomb threat at a school, I think evacuating students can be held to a reasonable standard as well.

Take a breath. Let's see what happened when the facts are in and we have more input.

Posted by Robert
a resident of Menlo Park: Felton Gables
on Apr 3, 2015 at 1:20 pm

POGO - I agree - what is missing is 2 things. A video - surely in this day abed age someone has one (likely the deputy). 2 UIs what do the parents of this student say. I would imagine if this were my child I would have a lot to say unless, per se, he did what was stated. Of course I am not implying he did, just the fact that he is the ONLY one who spoke out against this. He is a vernacular for this conversation

Posted by systemic racism
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 3, 2015 at 4:36 pm

"Do you recall the subsequent Justice Department investigation"

You mean the report that quantified the systemic racism in Ferguson?

Why, yes, I do recall that report, thank you; thanks for asking. Why on earth would you bring up a report that clearly puts a police department in such an awful light?

"The Justice Department just released its investigation into the Ferguson, Mo., police department, an inquiry that was initiated after an officer fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, last summer. Investigators found numerous examples “of racial bias among police and court staff in Ferguson,” and the report contained several racist e-mails that included..." Descriptions of the racist emails from the "subsequent Justice Department investigation" are here: Web Link

Painting our sheriffs with the broad brush of the Ferguson mess seems a little over-the-top.

Posted by systemic racism
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 3, 2015 at 4:41 pm

I apologize, Pogo - maybe the reports of over-reaction do apply.

"...the federal investigation into Ferguson’s broader justice system found systemic problems in the local police department, court and jail systems that may have violated the U.S. Constitution.

Among the issues identified in the report was a disproportionate amount of African-Americans targeted for traffic stops and other low-level violations.

It said that police relied too heavily on the use of force and were quick to escalate confrontations with citizens, and also found that citizens often were denied their due-process rights in the local jail system and in how the municipal courts processed citations."

So again, Pogo, my apologies - perhaps you were correct in referring to Ferguson: "It said that police relied too heavily on the use of force and were quick to escalate confrontations with citizens"

Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 3, 2015 at 7:40 pmMenlo Voter is a registered user.

systemic:

I don't think POGO was referring to that investigation. I believe he was referring to the investigation that cleared the officer in the Brown case. The one which put the lie to the statements that Brown had his hands up when he was shot. Hint: he didn't.

In that case people were quick to vilify the officer who had acted appropriately just as they may be doing now in this case.

Posted by systemic racism
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 9:43 am

Yes, Pogo, I read your post that elicited my concern over bringing up the DOJ reports on the mess in Ferguson, thus my comment about your smearing our good sheriffs with the broad stroke of the Ferguson brush. Next thing we know, you'll bring up SF's sheriffs and allegations about jail abuse, or the SFPD and their racist and homophobic text problem.

Menlo Voter - yes there were two DOJ reports issued after the killing of Michael Brown. I was referring to DOJ website: Web Link

"Even relatively routine misconduct by Ferguson police officers can have significant consequences for the people whose rights are violated. For example, in the summer of 2012, a 32-year-old African-American man sat in his car cooling off after playing basketball in a Ferguson public park. An officer pulled up behind the man’s car, blocking him in, and demanded the man’s Social Security number and identification.

Without any cause, the officer
accused the man of being a pedophile, referring to the presence of children in the park, and
ordered the man out of his car for a pat-down, although the officer had no reason to believe the man was armed. The officer also asked to search the man’s car. The man objected, citing his constitutional rights. In response, the officer arrested the man, reportedly at gunpoint, charging him with eight violations of Ferguson’s municipal code.

One charge, Making a False Declaration, was for initially providing the short form of his first name (e.g., “Mike” instead of
“Michael”), and an address which, although legitimate, was different from the one on his driver’s license. Another charge was for not wearing a seat belt, even though he was seated in a parked car. The officer also charged the man both with having an expired operator’s license, and with having no operator’s license in his possession. The man told us that, because of these charges, he lost his job as a contractor with the federal government that he had held for years. "

I look forward to all the facts about the events at WHS. It would be disheartening if they erased video evidence.

Posted by systemic racism
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 2:23 pm

Why, Pogo, I do not understand your aggressive viewpoint! I have said nothing about this incident being police brutality, only that I look forward to all the facts about the events at WHS. It would be disheartening if they erased video evidence. And I did agree it was POSSIBLE that your indication of brutality in Ferguson might be related (thus my apology.)

You brought up (and misrepresented,) and along with Menlo Voter, the United States Department of Justice's investigations into Ferguson, implying that they were solely a vindication of Darrin Wilson's alleged story, when in fact the investigations also disclosed systemic racism and brutality.

It wasn't I, but you, Menlo Voter and others who cast nefarious aspersions upon our sheriff, the DA and others. I still do not understand why you brought up Ferguson in connection to the sheriffs' actions at WHS, in light of any evidence that they are related.

...

more on the systemic racism in Ferguson (thank heavens it only happens there!)

Data collected by the Ferguson Police Department from 2012 to 2014 shows that African Americans account for 85% of vehicle stops, 90% of citations, and 93% of arrests made by FPD officers, despite comprising only 67% of Ferguson’s population.

African Americans are more than twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during vehicle stops even after controlling for non-race based variables such as the reason the vehicle stop was initiated, but are found in possession of contraband 26% less often than white drivers, suggesting officers are impermissibly considering
race as a factor when determining whether to search."

Good Lord! Thank heavens it only happens in Ferguson and not around here!

Posted by whs student
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 2:33 pm

In response to Elaine Park- The student ran from the police, it is completely justifiable that he was put to the ground by police officers. As for the "police brutality", that's all bogus, the police did everything in a professional manner (I witnessed everything).

Posted by Frank
a resident of Portola Valley: Westridge
on Apr 4, 2015 at 2:51 pm

A bomb scare is a tense situation and is certainly not the time for any student to curse the police or otherwise cause trouble. An evacuation must be carried out quietly and quickly and anyone who is causing disruption must be controlled immediately for the safety of all. If that means taking the person down, so be it.

I am so tired of the police being the scapegoats for others' aggressive behavior. What do people expect police to do? With the possibility of a bomb exploding, they don't have the time to waste on a trouble maker. Please start appreciating the tough job our police have to do.

Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 2:53 pmMenlo Voter is a registered user.

systemic:

I misrepresented nothing. I mentioned the investigation into the shooting as a separate investigation which CLEARED the officer.

The point of POGO's post was that just as in Ferguson people were jumping to conclusions regarding the officer's actions with no evidence. But you know that don't you? Are you dense or just being purposely obtuse? I suspect the latter.

Please identify where I cast aspersions upon the sheriffs deputies or DA in this case.

Posted by Mindless arguing
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 3:42 pm

CJ, minor who was assulted (sic), and whs student(s),

Thank your posts. I will assume for now you are who you claim to be and your reports are factual and thank you.

To "minor who was", it is, I think, normal that we want to be in the right. I find we have a tendency to rationalize and justify our actions and can become defensive when confronted with the possibility of being wrong. I have learned that in cases where the truth was more of a balance between my perspectives and those of others, tightly holding onto an uncompromising position both blinded me and made it more difficult to adopt a more moderate and flexible stance later. Perhaps it would be an advantage to you to ask some of your classmates who witnessed the events for their honest opinions before committing to a singular view of the events.

Posted by systemic racism
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 4:47 pm

Menlo Voter:

1. MV:"I misrepresented nothing. I mentioned the investigation into the shooting as a separate investigation "
yes, knowing full well that the DOJ had a concurrent investigation proving the horrors of the Ferguson PD, especially their systemic racism. Your question applies to yourself:
"Are you dense or just being purposely obtuse? I suspect the latter."

2. MV:"Please identify where I cast aspersions upon the sheriffs deputies or DA in this case."
I didn't make that statement. I made this statement: "but you, Menlo Voter and others who cast nefarious aspersions upon our sheriff, the DA and others"

You've done that for ages, one might even say, systemically. Want links?

to try and get it to be about this case only (my statement did not reflect that) and sheriff's deputies and DA (again, my statement did not say that, I said: our sheriff, the DA and others)

Keep digging ("they are all in regards to other situations.")

I've made my points... among them, many who like to claim Ferguson was bogus conveniently select only certain information, and ignore the DOJ's investigation of systemic racism and brutality, for example.

Posted by Peter Carpenter
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Apr 4, 2015 at 5:16 pmPeter Carpenter is a registered user.

systematic - You stated in your own words "I made this statement: "but you, Menlo Voter and others who cast nefarious aspersions upon our sheriff, the DA and others"" when Menlo Voter never made such a statement.

Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 5:21 pmMenlo Voter is a registered user.

systemic:

I have never cast aspersions about our sheriffs deputies. About our Sheriff and our DA? Absolutely. Our Sheriff is a pervert, arrested in a brothel for under age girls. Our DA is corrupt. There are multiple cases to prove that.

Posted by Minor assaulted
a resident of Woodside High School
on Apr 4, 2015 at 8:07 pm

I was a the minor assaulted by police! At no point was I aggressive in anyway, I did not commit a crime before my arrest, and I did not run while in handcuffs! Yes I will admit to cussing out the Police Officers, after the fact that I was thrown to the ground. For the student that said she witnessed everything^^^^ I would just like to say that you should get an eye exam. I was thrown too the ground three times before being placed in the police car, the police officer made false remarks by saying "stop resisting" to justify throwing me too the floor. While in hand cuffs officers said "Shut the f*** up" to me repeatedly. Two officers put their knees on my back, I said "I can't breath get the f*** off me" a near by officer said "if you can talk you can obviously breath so shut the f*** up" While in custody at the Juvenile detention center I was marked down as being gang affiliated for wearing too much red, I had on a 49ers hat and jacket and red shoes to match my jacket! Being a young Latino male I was racially profiled for my appearance!

Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 4, 2015 at 8:31 pmpogo is a registered user.

"Being a young Latino male I was racially profiled for my appearance!"

I think it is more likely that you were profiled for - in your own words - "cussing out the Police Officers." Yes, I know you said that happened after you were handcuffed but another poster on this thread has already disputed that claim. Besides, can you explain why the Latino males who quietly exited onto the athletic field were able to go on with their day? Why weren't they profiled and arrested? Perhaps it has something to do with their level of cooperation.

Without directly commenting on your specific situation, when something serious like a bomb threat occurs at a high school with hundreds of potential victims, it is usually a good idea to behave and not confront or impede the very people who are trying to move people to safety. But people don't have to do that. But then they shouldn't complain when they find themself in handcuffs in the back of a police car, either.

Posted by Minor assault
a resident of Woodside School
on Apr 4, 2015 at 9:30 pm

No! Pogo if you are going to quote me you should go back and read what exactly it says. I was racially profiled in the Juvinille detention center. And for the claims that say I tried to run away are completely false, I knew the police officers were wrong the second I was put in handcuffs. At no point before me being slammed by a police officer was I being defiant in anyway I proceeded in following a security guard that was in front of me to the field. I was perfectly calm and I was not acting aggressive in anyway or saying anything

Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 6, 2015 at 7:49 ampogo is a registered user.

To the student -

My apologies - I did misread your post and see that you claimed profiling at juvenile hall. I do know that that authorities require removing any possible gang affiliations when being entered into juvie hall (such as wearing red shirts) and that applies whether you are latino or not.

If what you say is true - that you were fully cooperating and quietly evacuating prior to being "thrown to the ground" by police, then that would not only be regrettable, it would be a crime. In that case, I do hope that there are corroborating witnesses and video.

If the police did that (and I have my doubts because even an eye witness seems to dispute your claim), those officers should be disciplined and/or prosecuted.

Posted by MA Bear
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Apr 7, 2015 at 5:01 pm

I agree with Menlo Voter-- having studied Criminal Justice and visiting San Quentin, our prisons are filled with 'innocent men and women'. Close to 99% -- anyway, I tok have been racially profiled, but a simple rule to follow is comply, don't deny. If you're respectful and listen to directions you're much less likely to be beaten and thrown around.

Posted by Redwood city voter
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 8, 2015 at 9:31 am

A lot of confused people here - [part removed. unproven accusations.]

An adult, armed man who beats up a child is not only a criminal, but a coward. People like that belong in North Korea, not in a democratic country.
If our Sheriff's Dept was honest and law-obiding, full investigation of this incident would take place and guilty officers would be fired immediately.
Abusing a child in front of his peers - don't those people have any morals or shame? What will the students make of representatives if the law breaking the law so blatantly and publically? Every day we see the news of police brutality and lawlessness in this country - it's dismaying to see people so terrorized and scared that they suck up to the criminals instead of standing up for rights of abused children. You deserve to experience what these kids did.

Witnesses to what happened at the Woodside High campus on April 2 when sheriff's deputies arrested or detained students are welcome to contact me by phone at 650-223-6527 or by email dboyce@AlmanacNews.com.

Posted by where's the video?
a resident of Atherton: West of Alameda
on Apr 8, 2015 at 12:07 pm

Thank you, Mr. Boyce.

Perhaps one day our taxpayer paid employees will protect themselves and us by wearing cameras.

And actually turning them ON.

North Korea, Stalin, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, etc...: @Comply-don't-deny may have proved Godwin, but is anyone denying the sentiment of "If you're respectful and listen to directions you're much less likely to be beaten and thrown around." ???

Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 8, 2015 at 12:33 pmpogo is a registered user.

Redwood City voter -

You said: "A lot of confused people here - the fact is that police broke the law multiple times here. 1. Brutal use of force against a teenager who did not commit any crime 2. Confiscating and destroying video evidence of crimes commited by the police"

Posted by Zero?
a resident of another community
on Apr 8, 2015 at 1:51 pm

"Zero" evidence? There is the statement from the minor above that he was thrown to the ground three times and had broken no laws. I know it's anonymous, and you may or may not wind up believing him versus the cops involved, but zero evidence would be no statements whatsoever.

Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 8, 2015 at 3:12 pmMenlo Voter is a registered user.

zero:

and what would you expect the minor who was arrested to say? Also, there are other statements above purportedly from witnesses that contradict said minor's claims. There are NO facts to support your contention, at least for now.

Posted by Comply, don't deny?
a resident of another community
on Apr 8, 2015 at 4:36 pm

Menlo Voter, I'm not sure if the rules you quoted allow me to reply any longer, but I will. Statements of witnesses, victims, alleged perpetrators, and cops all qualify as evidence. They usually are inconsistent. In the legal system, it's up to the jury to resolve who's telling the truth. You're right: a statement by someone who says he was treated roughly by police doesn't automatically mean he's right and they're wrong, but it is evidence. A statement by police that things happened a certain way doesn't mean it's fact either, as recent events in South Carolina have shown, just for example. If a teen says he was treated roughly and inappropriately, let's not assume it can't be true unless he has a video to prove it. It concerns me that the allegation is being made. It could be fabricated, it could be true, and it can also be true that he did something wrong but the cops did also.

Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 8, 2015 at 4:44 pmMenlo Voter is a registered user.

comply:

what you say is true, yet you ignore the statements from others that claim they were there saying the deputies didn't mistreat the alleged victim. I don't need video. He could be telling the truth, but my years in law enforcement tell me otherwise. The guilty party always lies and denies. As someone else noted, the prisons are full of "innocent" people. I'll wait for actual statements by non-anonymous people before passing judgment on either party.

Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 8, 2015 at 9:53 pmpogo is a registered user.

"Statements of witnesses, victims, alleged perpetrators, and cops all qualify as evidence."

Yes. And we have NONE of those yet. The comment you referenced on this thread was from an anonymous source. We have no idea if that person is who they say or if they were even present at the incident. That statement wouldn't even qualify as "hearsay" much less a FACT. Remember, Redwood City voter said "the fact is that police broke the law multiple times here. Fact? Hardly.

So if I say that I was there and saw the student hit the cop first would that be considered evidence, too? (I wasn't there, by the way - just making a point.)

As I pointed out, last year an awful lot of people repeated a narrative that turned out to be false. I'd rather be a little patient and be right before condemning our police officers.

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